Q: I have a hard time being convinced that the notion of predestination in Islam makes logical sense. This is my current understanding of the situation: According to the islamic faith, Allah knows everything- what will occur and all that which has not yet occurred. He knew everything about His creation before He created it. He knows in His eternal knowledge about His creation, their provisions, life spans, sayings, moves, deeds, secrets all of their obedient and disobedient acts, who among them will be people of Jannah or who will be from the people of An Naar. Allah has written everything in `law7 el ma7fouz`and there is no escape from Qadr. Examples from the Quran and the Hadith (ex: Book of destiny in sahih muslim and Divine Will in sahih bukhari) supports such understanding of pre-destination. So if human beings are essentially following a `script,` how does it make sense to punish or reward them for their actions? In other words, the notion of pre-destination seems to undermine the notion of free will. If God knows everything in advance and decided for us in advance, it doesn't seem fair to punish or reward us for our actions, since we aren`t the ultimate cause of these actions (Add to that the fact that, according to the islamic faith, nothing happens in the universe except if Allah allows it to happen, which further reinforces the fact that we are not the ultimate cause of our behaviour). But if we have free will, then God cannot be All-Knowing (which is how Islam describes God, thus there is a contradiction). Some sheiks say that no, we have free will, regardless. The say for example, `if I want to stand up I can`, and then they stand up as a proof of free will. They add to that the fact that `nobody forced them to do it`. From their own will, they chose to stand up. However, it can be argued that just because you have the subjective impression that no one is forcing you to do something doesn`t mean that, objectively, that`s what`s actually happening. For example, someone with a brain tumor can exhibit pedophilic behaviours but he/she would never know that it was the brain tumor causing such behaviours (for more, see http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-07-28-pedophile-tumor_x…). Also, God already knew that you were going to stand up as an example, since he already knows everything in advance, thus this is an illusion of free will, it's not actual free will. So to summarise, either we have free will and God is not All-Knowing (therefore contradicting how Islam describes God) or God is All-knowing and we don't have free will (therefore the system of reward-and-punishment is unfair). What is your opinion on that? I would love to know.

Q: I found out that my husband is having an affair with a 21 year old muslim girl. He has confessed that he does love her. So I read istikara to ask for guidance. My first dream was I was at my mums house and all of my bags were packed but I am busy helping my mum to make sweetmeats. My second dream was I was at the mall but I was having intercourse with my husband. I am very confused so I am not sure what this means.

Q: What is the Islamic ruling regarding for giving donation to send the dead body from abroad to the home land of the dead person (if the person is a muslim)? Can zakat be given for this purpose? Will it be considered kaar-e-khair?

Q: Is zakaat compulsory on the capital amount in a mudhaarabah transaction?

Q: I would like to know the masala regarding the selling of a television. One no longer has the use of a TV and wishes to sell it. Please advise as to which avenues that wealth could be spent in e.g. sadaqah etc?

Q: Is it permissible for a person in ihraam to cover himself with a sheet or duvet when sleeping?

Q: Can a female patient can take injection of anthozia on her back from a male doctor, remove her half shirt and take it on the body?

Q: Is it permissible in Islam to eat horse, frog and tortoises meat?

Q: Recently, I started a farming business and alhamdulillah I have bought a few animals. One week ago, I bought a male buffalo for breeding, but someone told me that I can’t earn an income from the buffalo mating. Is it correct that I cannot hire out my buffalo to mate with other people’s buffalos? Can you also tell me how I should look after my animals in an Islamic manner?

Q: My question is my father put the house in mortgage to the bank. One year later he passed away. The loan amount was equal to the house value. No money was paid back to the bank. The bank kept asking for money for several years and finally they sent a letter to possess and auction the property. We were about to lose the house. During that time I came to USA and was able to pay the bank and got the house back from the bank. I allowed my married sister to live on the 1st floor of the house for no rental money, since we all came to USA including my mom and 2 brothers. For few years my mom took the 2nd floor rental income. But after that my sister started to use the rental income for her family. She used the rental income for 20 years. My question is that when I paid for the house to the bank, does the house belong to me or it should be divided according to the Islamic law. I don't want to do injustice to any of my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Please advise thank you.